Here’s our preview regarding the season as a whole.
The Washington Mystics will begin their 2024 WNBA season tomorrow. And it’s time for us to finally give you a recap of the long offseason and what to expect this summer. So let’s go!
Who is on the 2024 Mystics roster?
- Guards: Ariel Atkins, Brittney Sykes, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Karlie Samuelson, Julie Vanloo, Jade Melbourne
- Forwards: Myisha Hines-Allen, Aaliyah Edwards, Emily Engstler, DiDi Richards
- Centers: Shakira Austin, Stefanie Dolson
Who are the best players that the Mystics signed?
In no particular order, these were the Mystics’ biggest free agent signings.
- Stefanie Dolson in free agency
- Karlie Samuelson in free agency
- Julie Vanloo in free agency
Who are the biggest departures from the Mystics?
Again, in no particular order, these were the Mystics’ biggest losses.
- Elena Delle Donne is skipping the 2024 WNBA season after declining a core player option.
- Natasha Cloud left in free agency to sign with the Phoenix Mercury
- Tianna Hawkins did not re-sign and is a free agent
What are the Mystics’ biggest questions in the 2024 season?
Can Washington thrive in an offense without a true starting point guard (for now)? Washington lost Cloud in free agency, and her replacement is Sykes. During media day, Sykes said that she planned on taking more of a facilitator role after a breakout 2023 season, so it will be interesting to see how Washington’s offense moves this season. It’s also possible that Vanloo could grow into this role, but that’s another question.
Will Myisha Hines-Allen regain her form from the 2020 and 2021 seasons? Hines-Allen is undoubtedly the Washington player who is on the hot seat. She is on a guaranteed max contract that expires this year, but she hasn’t played at an All-Star level like she did in 2020, when she made the All-WNBA Second Team. Last season was hampered due to injury, but she has been healthy this season so far. If she can regain that form from just a few years ago, the Mystics will look a lot scarier on paper.
Can Julie Vanloo grow into a starting point guard role? If you watched the Belgium women’s national team for much of the past seven years, you know that Vanloo has been one of the Cats’ key perimeter players during that time, along with Julie Allemand and former Mystic Kim Mestdagh. Vanloo has already given Mystics fans a good impression in the preseason by averaging 7 assists a game. If she can do that off the bench and be a consistent three point shooter in WNBA competition, I wouldn’t be shocked to see her start by midseason.
Will the Mystics be one of the WNBA’s best three point shooting teams? Washington made a clear decision to add more perimeter shooting by adding Samuelson, Dolson and Vanloo to the roster. If they, as well as Atkins get going throughout 2024, Washington should rank well above 8th in three point field goal percentage like they did last year.
Can the Mystics stay relatively healthy all year long? Last year’s team was 19-21 after many injuries. So could this team be healthier and keep Washington in a better position to compete?
How will the Mystics do?
DraftKings Sportsbook has the Mystics with the longest odds of winning the WNBA championship this year. So that would indicate that the Mystics will be one of the worst teams in the WNBA.
Considering that Delle Donne, Cloud and Hawkins, the Mystics’ three biggest departures, are all collectively better than Dolson, Samuelson and Vanloo, Washington’s three biggest additions, I’m thinking that the Mystics’ ceiling is about .500. When injuries will likely cost them some games, I’m thinking that an 11 to 17 win season is more realistic.
So at best, the Mystics would sneak in the playoffs as a No. 8 seed. But it’s more likely that they miss the playoffs this season. That’s not necessarily a bad thing because they do have two first round picks for the 2025 WNBA Draft.